Doll discovered in grave of supposed baby

November 6, 2009 by Baby Chums
Filed under: Weird

baby_doll Detectives in South Auckland say a woman, 33, has admitted staging a funeral for a baby whilst knowing that a doll was in the coffin.

The charade spiralled to faking a funeral because she could not bring herself to tell her boyfriend the truth; she had never actually been pregnant.

Alarms were raised by staff at the Department of Internal Affairs after they received a request for birth and death certificates for the baby, although there was no police record or doctor’s certificate for the death.

Detective Senior Sergeant Darrell Harpur said: “We interviewed the alleged mum and she said there was no body in the grave.”

Last week, officers then exhumed the casket from Mangere Lawn Cemetery in South Auckland and verified that it was in fact a doll, wrapped in a blanket.

Det Sgt Harpur told the local newspaper that the charade “revolved around” the woman’s boyfriend desperately wanting them to have a baby.

The doll’s coffin was returned to the grave and the plaque removed because the cemetery administrator did not want to reuse the plot.

Police believe the woman has since admitted the truth to her boyfriend.

The woman was given a warning for deception, kept on file. No further charges are expected.